


prepawsterous!

by Kurusugawa (orphan_account)



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series, Shin Megami Tensei
Genre: Humor, Implied Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21729547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Kurusugawa
Summary: A status effect fails to wear off, and Fox is left carrying Joker.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Kitagawa Yusuke, Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 104





	prepawsterous!

They’ve just passed what must be their _third_ mouse maze when it happens.

He still feels the brush burns of fine carpet burned into his knees and palms. Truthfully, had he not been running for his life from one vent to another, he would have enjoyed looking at the décor of the rooms. Polished rosewood wall panels, dark purple doors that complimented the red flooring... Together it cultivated quite a classy picture.

But for once, he’s not here to stare at the scenery. Fox stands, legs trembling just slightly from the sudden change from mouse to human. Though there was the matter of the button not working. They’ve been standing in the safe room for what feels like _hours_. A ‘safe room’, as in a room not under the influence of Shido’s weird mousecraft... not a Safe Room.

“ _Squeak..._ ” Joker says, er, squeaks? He’s barely the length of Fox’s shoe, having finished his tiny lap of panic and now dangling by the scruff of his neck in Skull’s grasp.

Holographic panels surround Oracle, her fingers scurrying across one of the keyboards. “Hold on, Joker,” she assures, but he catches the onset of panic edging her voice. “If we go back to the last statue here—” Oracle points to a spot on her screen. “—we can reset the switch.”

It’s difficult to read the expressions on a _mouse_ than it is a human, but there’s no way Joker can be comfortable as he is.

He starts when Skull shoves him in Fox’s direction. “Here, take ‘im,” he says.

Fox’s head tilts just slight. “Why me?”

“Cause he’s your boyfriend,” (he can’t stop his eyebrows from knitting together at Skull’s bluntness. They weren’t ‘boyfriends’; Joker was a good friend, that was all.) “and he ’effin bit me,” Skull almost pouts. “Well, nibbled... whatever, I think I squeezed him or somethin’ while we were running.”

Joker settles in his palms, looking over Fox’s curled fingers at the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

“You stepped on his tail trying to chase him down, remember?” Panther deadpans.

“Yeah, how the hell does that work? He doesn’t have one as a human, so was it like I stepped on his ass or something?”

“Ooh, now I’m curious,” Oracle muses. “I volunteer Skull as our guinea pig!”

“Wouldn’t the correct term be ‘lab rat’?” Noir chips in.

Skull looks less than pleased. “Hey, leave me out of this!”

Queen sighs. They’ve been exploring Shido’s Palace nonstop, and with the limited Safe Rooms, Fox was ready to fold. But they still had a few letters of recommendation to retrieve. She turns to Mona. “We’ll do as Oracle says.”

“Yeah. Fox can carry Joker but we’ll...”

...He’s almost struck with how _soft_ Joker feels. He can almost feel the fine fur through his glove as he strokes him between his ears. It feels almost as smooth as his hair, which he _has_ felt on more than one occasion. Correction: _Yusuke_ felt Akira’s hair. Not Fox. And really, Fox didn’t mean to start _petting_ Joker of all things, but what else was he to do? Amid Skull fending himself against Oracle and Panther, Noir joining Queen and Mona’s tactics-discussion, Fox had nothing to do.

And if Joker relaxing in his palms was anything to go by, then the gesture certainly wasn’t _unwelcome_. Even as a mouse (or was it rat?), Joker could let his guard down with Fox. Or maybe his energy in this tinier body was so spent he was ready to sleep at the drop of a hat. It had been rather amusing to see him try to climb up the body of the door to reach the lock.

“Well, what’re your thoughts, leader?” Fox says absentmindedly. He _knows_ Joker can’t answer beyond squeaks or other mouse noises. “Is this a pawsitive course of action?”

“ _Squeak, squeak!_ ”

Joker looks at him, glassy black eyes wide in disbelief.

He can’t resist. “As we prosqueak down these halls, I’ll be sure to pawtect you.”

And now he’s scrambling to free himself from Fox’s grasp.

“Looks like Joker’s ready to go,” Mona smirks.

Oracle is less than pleased. “Nah, he’s had enough of Inari’s mouse puns. If I was him, I’d be scrambling to get away too.”

Fox has half a mind to torment both Joker _and_ Oracle with wordplay, but it’s hard to do so when they’re racing down halls, clinging to the corners to avoid Shadows before crashing into the lobby. Oracle can decipher each one’s affinity weakness and resistance, but without their Wildcard, it was not worth the gamble. Except Shadows did not care if they were being avoided.

It had been careless to round the corner without looking.

The Shadow’s true form bursts from its shell, like a butterfly emerging from its pupa. Except this butterfly is quite large with a gold metal body and a white face with (fake) hair as curly as the people’s wigs in baroque paintings. In its right hand is a staff, the tip shaped like the teeth of a key. He can’t remember the name, but he’s seen Joker summon it once before.

But what he _does_ know, is that this enemy is impervious to Bufu-spells...

...and that Megaton Raid _really_ hurt.

They see it coming, jump back in an attempt to scatter like dust, but the physical blow manages to chip the floor at Fox’s feat, cutting into the floor and spitting bits of carpet and wood in a geyser that brushes his arm as turns to shield Joker, bring him closer to his chest. His feet stumble, and the ground rushes up to meet him as the back of his foot catches on an erect board.

Among the thieves’ calling of his codename, of their own Personas, he hears Joker’s alarmed squeak as he lands awkwardly on his wrist. Fox bites through the pain, swallows past the exclaim that wants to burst free, and he feels Joker scratching at his palm and fingers in a frenzy, desperate to escape.

He finds out why the minute Joker _grows_ , puff of white smoke coughing into his face and suddenly a weight that is much _much_ heavier than a tiny little rat. Fox grunts at the pressure of Joker’s body on top of his, at the accidental elbow that digs into his side as Joker turns, mask flaring to life.

“Rangda!” he calls.

She appears, ratty (pun unintended, he thinks) black hair and sickeningly long claws that she thrusts upwards. A spark alights at the Shadow’s feet, blooming into a column that burns his eyes. It screams, is given barely any time to recover when Hecate throws a fire spell of her own followed by more barrages from Zio and Garu abilities and the like.

Joker turns to look at him, and they’re an awkward tangle of limbs and he’s grateful Joker’s sudden recovery didn’t break each bone in his hands. “Are you alright, Fox?” he calls against the sound of battle screaming behind them. The weight aside, Joker was rather... warm. Of course there was also the fact he was _laying_ on top, but that was another issue. Beneath the mask, Fox recognizes familiar concern and worry in dark gray eyes. He first saw it in Joker – Akira too – back when...

Fox means to shake his head. He doesn’t. “I’m fine,” he manages through a strained voice.

“S-Sorry,” he scrambles off him, pushes himself to his feet before he holds out a hand to Fox. “Can you fight?”

He’s still winded when he reaches out to Joker. It is hard not to return Joker’s smirk when they touch. “Do not underestimate me.”

Joker lets out a short, one note laugh, “Wouldn’t think of it.”


End file.
